


We Strange Few

by CyberSearcher



Series: Celestial AU [5]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Celestial AU, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, gay glacier disasters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:40:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26963824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyberSearcher/pseuds/CyberSearcher
Summary: Even after three years, Cole has remained firm in who his secret crush is. Jay insists on knowing and doesn't believe it when he figures it out.
Relationships: Cole & Jay Walker, Cole/Zane (Ninjago)
Series: Celestial AU [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1786705
Comments: 10
Kudos: 61





	We Strange Few

**Author's Note:**

> BY THE MOON THIS THING KICKED MY ASS
> 
> I have no reason why this was so difficult. I blame school. I've still got some spite left so I'll probably write some Cryptid AU down the line. Man, it's been like, two months since I added something to that. Oof.

“I’m just saying that the Moon’s not that scary.” 

“And I’m just saying I’m as much into nightmare-ghost gods as I am stupid fox gods.” 

Cole sighed as he passed Jay the second tool from under the new machine he was in the middle of constructing. It was meant to be a harvester - at least as far as he understood - but looked more like a patchy mess of wood and blunt iron blades. 

The man leaned back to wipe his forehead with a rag. Leaning back, Cole sighed at the small breeze that blew away some of the afternoon heat. Courtesy of another one of Jay’s machines; a fan connected to a set of gears that pumped up and down all by itself. 

“I already told you, he’s not as creepy as everyone thinks. He doesn’t have seven eyes or - or silver tentacle thingys.” He insisted. “He’s just… he looks nice okay!” 

Jay made another skeptical sound and stuck his hand out for another tool. Cole kicked a hammer toward him and was satisfied with the grunt of pain the geisha made. Jay finally shoved himself out from the machine and rubbed at a smudge of dirt on his cheek. 

“When are you just gonna tell me who your crush is?” He grinned. “C’mon, is it the cute guy running the tea shop? Or the merchant who’s always trying to give you discounts?” 

Cole hastily threw the rag at Jay, hoping that it’d keep him from seeing just how embarrassed he was. 

“It’s not them,” he groaned, “you’ve already guessed just about everyone in the village but your parents. It’s not your parents, by the way. Don’t even think about it.”

“Oh sun’s now I’m thinking about it,” Jay gave a dramatic cry and made a show of covering his eyes, “it burns! Oh fuck just hand me the screwdriver I don’t want to see anymore.” 

Cole laughed. “That’s karma, you dick.” 

He snorted and leaned back against his harvester, rubbing at his chin. “Don’t tell me it’s actually the Moon Celestial?” 

Cole stilled for a moment, his smile dropping for just a second. 

Jay’s face blanked. 

“No… no way.” 

“Okay you need to promise not to freak out.” 

“Cole, it’s the Moon. The _Moon!_ How can I not freak out!” Jay screamed. 

He sat up and gripped his friends shoulders, giving him a quick shake, “look, if you really want to know more, I’ll have an easier time explaining if you just calm down, zap-trap.”

The shorter man did shut his mouth, but Cole didn’t remove his hands. He gave a deep sigh and hung his head.

“Okay, so… y’know how I got my blessing right?” He started. 

“Yea? You had it since you were a kid, met some other people with it and decided to go off learning more.” 

“I… there’s more. I didn’t know how to tell you, so I didn’t.” 

He’d never seen Jay quest for as long as he was while he explained the parts of his past he’d omitted. On occasion Jay would reach for the automatic fan and tinker with it’s gears, but save for that he gave Cole his full attention. When he was finally done, Cole waited for Jay to go off on him again. But to his surprise, he looked incredibly pragmatic. Jay pulled up one knee and rested his chin atop it. 

“Are you sure you can trust it?” He said quietly. 

“I think I can. But I get it if you’re still worried. I’ve even got a plan to actually see him.”

Jay cocked an eyebrow. “Alright, I’m curious now. What’s your plan?” 

“It’s supposed to be a full moon tonight. And the place I live is a shrine to the Moon. I could probably try to contact him.” 

“What? You’ll clap your hands and sing a song then he’ll just appear?” Jay scoffed. 

The inventor was more correct than Cole hoped. “More or less.” He confessed.   
Jay laughed and pushed himself off his seat. “Well in that case, I’m in boulders.” 

Cole couldn’t help but joke. “This is probably more thought out than your plans anyways.” 

The playful ruffling of his hair was a nice distraction from the fact he was relying purely on blind faith to summon Zane.

As he pushed open the door to his small bedroom, he pulled out a carefully folded sheet of paper. Cole couldn’t count the times he’d re-read the words and it always surprised him that the ink never faded. He sat outside the steps to the pond behind the shrine, watching the ripples as he waited for the sky to darken. 

He decided to meet Jay halfway down the mountain, who wasted no time in complaining about the travel up to the shrine. 

“Coulda’ chosen some - something closer to the ground?” Jay panted. 

Cole rolled his eyes, then handed him some water and sat beside him. “Didn’t really have much of a choice in the matter. You gotta admit the view is beautiful.” 

“I mean, yea. Yea you’re right on that one.” 

The sun was setting behind him and the shadow of the little shrine loomed over them both. Atop the mountain, the winds rattled the old bells between the tori gates and whistled across the clouds. Cole tilted his head back and watched violet fade into indigo and misty black. Jay remained quiet as the man beside him quietly zoned out and together, they watched the first stars blink to life. 

But Jay couldn’t stay silent for long. Curiosity won him over and he shook Cole out of his reverent trance. “Hey, you promised me a Celestial, not just some cool lights.” 

“Hm, oh. Right, got it.” 

Stretching his legs and walking towards the shrine, Cole looked over the wooden statue of the moon. He did what he could to restore it, which amounted to just cleaning it and hoping the old paint didn’t chip off. Breathing out a large sigh, Cole knelt by the foot of the shrine. He could feel Jay watching and tried to ignore it. 

“So, I don’t know how this works. But if you can hear me, could you show us both some sort of sigh? I know you’re there and maybe you’ve been watching me for longer than I know. But… it’d still be nice to really meet you.”

A quiet moment passed. Cole cracked one eye open and glanced at the statue. He half expected something to burst into flame or for the eyes to start glowing. The man huffed out his breath and stared up at the blank face of the Moon Celestial. 

“I know you’re not as scary as people think. And I know you’re not that bad of a person either. I’m not asking for a lot, but maybe if you just showed me something then at least one other person will know you’re not just some monster.” 

His head drooped, frustration starting to tint his voice. He really didn’t know what he was doing, part of him though it was stupid to try and demand anything from what was essentially a god. His eyes trace the grain of the wooden floor, following the trails of pale light from the moon overhead. 

He caught a glance at Jay, who was still staring. His eyes were wide, but Cole figured that was just because it was dark and - as far as he knew - Jay didn’t have any blessing that let him see in low light. But his line of vision was off. Then Cole realized he was staring behind him. 

Kneeling across the surface of the pond was the Moon Celestial. He drew himself up in a graceful curve and Cole didn’t know what to do but stare. 

Zane was draped in a robe made of fabric cut from the night itself; pearly white, silvery-greys and deep blue flowing from his neck and down into wide sleeves that fell past his hands. A thin circlet crowed his head, with silver circles etched with the moon’s faces hanging over his forehead. 

He blinked, then focused his gaze on Cole. He hadn’t realized he was walking towards him until he was standing at the edge of the pond. Both his hair and skin were pale and flawless, with a shimmering aura that dripped like a fountain down his shoulders. His eyes were blue, glowing blue and brighter than any morning sky. 

“Oh wow, you’re beautiful.”

Cole slapped a hand over his mouth. Jay snorted loudly in the background. “I - oh sun’s I, wait I didn’t mean that. Forgive me, my lord - I’m so sorry.” 

The Celestial looked completely impassive towards the remark. Then, slowly, he tilted his head just the slightest. 

“You… are an interesting human being.” 

His voice was so soft. Cole swallowed thickly and tried to find somewhere less obvious to stare. 

“Holy shit,” Jay exclaimed. “You really do have a crush on him.” 

Had it not been for his shock, Cole would have killed Jay right then and there. Zane’s cheeks suddenly went baby blue and his posture went stiff. The inventor looked between both of them, blushing like idiots, and grinned ridiculously wide. 

“So, you and the Moon?” He nodded sagely, completely irreverent. “Gotta say, he’s got good taste.” 

“Jay I swear, I will end you.” Cole snapped.


End file.
